VOLUME 12, NO. 3     MAY 1999

Troubleshooting to the top

im Dresser, a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering from Manchaug, Mass., took first place in the recent U.S. World Skills Electronic Applications Trials at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The win earned him a place on Team USA and an all-expenses-paid trip to the 35th World Youth Skills Competition in Montreal in November. Dresser's prize also included a six-month, advanced training internship with Philips Consumer Electronics Co. in Jefferson City, Tenn., where he began working in May.

The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) coordinates the show and sponsors the semi-annual trials, which brought together six national skills medalists, each of whom had previously won a school, district, state and national contest. Contestants were scored on their performance on two assembly projects, four one-hour troubleshooting sessions involving a TV, VCR, computer and fax machine, and two tests on theory. Dresser began competing in these events as a sophomore at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton, Mass.

"People sometimes don't appreciate the quality of the education offered at many vocational high schools," says Dresser. "Blackstone gave me a practical, technical background and problem-solving skills. My experience at WPI honed those skills so much that I excelled at the trials."